by Kirsten Clodfelter

She had skipped her biology lecture to let the man shave her legs and then have sex with her in the Jacuzzi tub. When he came, he bit down hard on her left shoulder, and afterward, she studied the indentations his teeth left in her skin while he dressed. Whether or not they were at his home, he always dressed as soon as they finished.

by Derek Alger

"Denny had risen from the streets of Jersey City to become a successful merchandiser in the garment industry in Manhattan, until he became too rapacious, cut too many corners and the inevitable first indictment came."

by Bob Thurber

"...A voice in my head says: walk away, Bobby, just walk away.
But I'm also thinking: what the fuck, take the money and run.
Whatever the amount. Isn't that the reason I set out so early, why I
walked all morning through dirty Moscow streets -- to make a quick
sale?"...to get home, back to America."

by Bruce Holland Rogers

Ed was chopping carrots and summer squash when Susan came home. She put on an apron and checked the open cookbooks to see what they were making. She took the package of chicken thighs from the refrigerator and started to rinse the pieces in the sink.

by Thea Atkinson

She's homeless. Probably crazy. She presses further into the only available seat four rows behind the driver; the other occupant presses closer to the window, stares out as if it was actually open and wafting clean air in.